Bitter Revenge and Cherished Hope
by Zadien
Summary: Sakura, or the Black Cherry knows no other life, than street fighting and stealing, but to save Tomoyo, she must co-operate with the police, namely Li Syaoran. R&R PLzzz review.
1. Why it happened

A.N. Hey new story hope you like please review.  
  
I don't own CCS.  
  
~~*~~@~~*~~  
A young woman stood holding a photo of a family, a father, mother, son and daughter. She stared at the daughter. The girl was barely older than ten. Her eyes were impossibly large and a vibrant emerald green which sparkled with intelligence and life. There was a brilliant glow to them as she laughed into the camera. They were heavily lashed with long black lashes which, the woman knew, would lie like perfect crescents on her prominent cheekbones. Her face was finely sculpted, with a small cherry mouth, with a ripe lower lip, a button nose and a determined tilt to her chin. Her face was framed by a crop of silky auburn hair. The finest sculpture could try for decades but they'd never capture her stunning beauty. Even the camera struggled to contain it, because it was her personality which really made her shine. Her sweet and pure essence.  
  
The womans gaze lifted to take in the young boy standing beside the girl. He was smiling too, but not at the camera. His coffee black eyes filled with warmth, watched his sister and it was she who made him smile. His face was just as sharp and chiseled but his complexion was a darker tan compared to his sisters almost white skin. His square jaw was set and his deep brown hair was messed. The woman stared at the photo and was hit immediately by a memory.  
  
#Flashback#  
"Look who's up early this morning. It's the Kaijuu!"  
  
"Take that back Touya. I'm not a monster.", the girl scowled stomped her tiny foot on his with force causing the boy to wince.  
  
He feigned pain but his eyes sparkled with laughter apparently his name calling had the desired effect.  
  
"Touya, leave Sakura alone.", a man's voice called out and even though she couldn't see him she could hear the laughter in his voice.  
  
#End of Flashback#  
  
A tear trembled in her eye before spilling down the womans cheek and splashed onto the photo. She lifted a shaky finger to wipe the drop from the glass. She looked from the boy to the man, and traced a finger over his face. He had the same auburn hair as the daughter, but it was short. His eyes were a warm chocolate brown, like the boy's. He was laughing at the camera with his arms resting on the shoulders of his children. Although he was smiling, there was sadness in his eyes. A deep sadness sprung from an over whelming sense of grief. He had lost someone very dear to him. Some one he loved very much. But he was masking the grief and doing a good job, only by close observation could she see it.   
  
She could sympathise with him. For most of her life she'd been masking up her feelings her emotions. But it was for the best, for her own sanity. It had to be done. The woman pulled on a short sports jacket which fit her like a second skin over her sports bra. She tugged on a pair of baggy tracksuit bottoms and slid them up over her slender, well toned legs. Finally she slipped on a pair of sneakers, which were comfortable enough for her to bounce on her toes while in a fighting stance.   
  
She lifted a chain which was pooled on her dresser. She dropped it round her neck and smiled down at it. This was her life line, as well as the rectangular cards in her pocket. They were the only things that kept her safe, while she was fighting and while she was stealing. She made a face at that thought and immediately the small coil of guilt in her gut uncurled and began to spread through her. No she didn't like stealing, but she didn't have much of a choice. If she wanted Tomoyo to remain alive it was better for her to do as she was told.  
  
She shook her head and buried down the unwanted feeling, and cast an appraising glance of herself in the mirror. She looked good. As a final improvement she gathered her long tousled auburn hair into two high bunches which hung on either side of her head to her shoulder, with a few tendrils falling around her face. She cast a disgusted look at the flyer promoting her next match which was coincidentally starting in half an hour. She was fighting some guy named 'The Executioner'. In her opinion, she figured the name was pretty lame but she would show him in the arena what she thought.  
  
"Cherry, hurry up.", a soft voice called from outside her door.   
  
Cherry cringed at her name. It wasn't her real name. What was it again. What had the man called her? Sakura? Yes, her name was Sakura Kinomoto, daughter of Fujitaka, and Nadeshiko Kinomoto and younger sister of Touya Kinomoto. It had been so long since she had been called that name. And she missed her family. Their death had been a tragic loss, first her mother when she was two, then her father and brother in a car crash when she was fifteen. It was about this time she had been recruited by Owikawa as a underground street fighter. She was numbered as the best. But she was Sakura Kinomoto, she excelled at everything, and she had yet to be beaten, and no one would.  
  
***  
  
"She's done it again.", Yamazaki grinned reviewing the article about the Black Cherry's latest robbery and escapade.  
  
Right at that moment the officers on duty were facing the Commissioner and moods in the office were low. No one could catch her, and there was the rumor about her having magick and this made every one even more depressed. It was now rumored that some out of town detectives were coming in to handle the case, and Yamazaki wasn't so sure how he felt about this. He sighed, he had no choice in the matter, he had to help them. The sooner they arrived the quicker the Black Cherry would be captured and placed behind bars.   
  
On hearing the deafening silence which had fallen on the office, Yamazaki took it as his cue to go out and greet the new detectives. He placed his coffee on his desk and placing the paper on it aswell, he pushed himself away from the desk and made his way to the door. He opened it up and walked to the three figures standing in the middle of the room. Two men and one woman looked around the office with an aura of boredom, as though they didn't really believe that they were really needed. As though they believed, no knew they were better than everyone.   
  
The one in the center, had a look of authority surrounding him. He was the one all eyes looked to immediately. His face was emotionless, and his amber eyes cold and unfathomable. His hair was chocolate brown, thick and unruly, his face ruggedly handsome. Yamazaki knew this man by reputation. His name was Li Syaoran and he was Hong Kong's best detective, having the best record for criminal arrests. He was particularly famous for the capture of the Midnight Strangler, a serial killer who had haunted the streets of Hong Kong for a year and a half before Li came on the case, within three months, Li had him behind bars. He wore jeans and a shirt, with a dress jacket over it.  
  
The man beside him, was Hiragizawa Eriol. He was Li's right hand man and also one of the best in his field. He had a way of getting into the mind of the most deranged Psychopath and it was this ability that helped Li catch his man. He had navy hair, combed and much tidier than Li's, his eyes were azure with a glint of mischief in them, that never left. His mouth was twisted in a smirk, that said he was thinking things he shouldn't. His stance showed he was a man who was confident in his skin. He wore a shirt that he was easy in.  
  
The woman was Li's cousin and partner Li, Meilin Rae. In fact all of them were related in some way, which was why they could trust each other. Family never let you down, not in a job as dangerous as this. This contributed to their success. Her eyes were a deep crimson which flared with passion for her job. Her hair was as a black as a raven and was amazingly long, but was twisted into little balls at the side of her face and the rest hung down her back. Her face was youthful but jaded. She knew her job and she knew how to do it. She wasn't emotional, and she was a fighter, which was why she fitted perfectly into Li's group. She wore a red silk Chinese blouse, and a pair of black trousers which were easy to move in.   
  
Yamasaki summoned up all his courage then moved towards them, hoping to Kami-sama they would catch the Black Cherry before she had a chance to strike again.  
  
PLease review!!!!!!!!!!!!! 


	2. Red light district

Hey I'm sorry I took so long to come back with a new chapter, but it just did. Thank you guys for the reviews, alex, Sakura Angel, kao, meinien, and Fantasiimaker. Ok here's the second chapter.  
  
Disclaimer:  
  
{Gems} Lady Zadien does not own CCS, her King does......so not true. None of them own CCS K?  
  
{Z.D.} True I don't own it, but please review my story with my own plot.....*laughs nervously* at least I think it is, may have been implanted by evil scientists. Well if you have any questions don't be afraid to ask.  
  
~~*~~@~~*~~  
  
The executioner slammed into the metal cage surrounding the arena. Men in their thousands and women too were crowded round the arena shouting abuse, cheering and jeering on the two opponents in the ring. The air was thick with smoke and smells of sweat and alcohol. In the corner a man stood clutching a fistful of money in his grubby paws, even as others placed their bets on who would win. So far Cherry was the house favorite.   
  
Cherry stood over the crumpled man, and watched as he staggered to his feet. Already he was waning but she was still fresh. She sighed heavily. She glanced round her, taking the time he took to recover to find out what was going on in her surroundings. In a dark musty corner she could see Owikawa sitting at a round table with Tomoyo beside him watching her nervously.   
  
Tomoyo was her best friend since they'd been toddlers. She was the only person who knew the real Cherry/Sakura Kinomoto. She was incredibly beautiful, but in the wounded bird sort of way. She was Owikawa's punch bag for when Cherry had done something wrong. But she was strong, always helping Cherry out when she was stealing priceless artifacts, even though she got hurt because of that. Her Amethyst eyes showed the pain, but also the deep strength she had discovered within herself, due to her circumstances. Her hair was so dark a violet it looked almost black, except when the light shone on it, but it lacked the luster it had previously owned. Now it just hung limply down her back. Her mouth was wide and soft, the colour of roses. Her skin was so pale a white it looked like pure Ivory. Many women would pay a bounty to have skin like hers.   
  
Her personality was as beautiful as her face and just as natural. Tomoyo hated to see people hurt, and would rather take the blame herself. She was usually always smiling, though most of the time it was faked. It was only genuine when she was with her best friend and when they were on their own with out any worries hanging over them. She was always making sure everyone else was happy, even when inside she was crying, and she never, never let Owikawa see he was hurting her. She hadn't even told Cherry that, but there were some things you couldn't hide from the girl who had seen you go through your first period, buy your first bra and have your first crush.   
  
But on saying that she was one of the best actresses Cherry had ever encountered, and one day she hoped to see her best friend on the stage. Though Tomoyo preferred to be on the other end of the camera filming Cherry. It was also a way to hide her black eye, by telling everyone that it was because she always had her eye glued to the lens. Cherry didn't know what she would have done if Tomoyo hadn't been there with her this whole time, though she did feel bad about how Tomoyo had ended up there as well. Her best friend always had a way of cheering her up and making her feel better after her 'nights out'. And even though Cherry always came home, Tomoyo still always got nervous when she was fighting. Cherry didn't know why, she always won.  
  
Her gaze shifted to Owikawa and her fond smile twisted into a bitter one. This man was the bane of her miserable existence. He was the one who had changed her, turned her into this cold unemotional monster. Her had made her care about no one, or he had tried to. Tomoyo was the exception. He had tried to make her merciless, but Tomoyo helped keep her conscience. He was only interested in money, and Cherry was his key to making it. She always won, and when she once tried to lose he had stopped Tomoyo from eating. There had been nothing Cherry could do. Her magick was waning and he was a much stronger magician. He only allowed her a little magick, and the cards she needed for the 'night out' and he kept the rest himself in her book, in a magickal safe. One she could never penetrate. He used Tomoyo as his hostage and blackmailed Cherry with her friends life, to get the Card mistress to do his bidding and there was nothing Cherry could do.   
  
He watched the match with a glint of greed in his muddy brown eyes, which resembled dried up raisins. His peppered black and gray hair was immaculate, not a hair out of place, as though it had been slicked with gel. Cherry knew better. She couldn't remember the last time he had washed his hair. He was always to busy with plans for global domination. His perfect appearance was just that. An appearance. Some magick glamour spell he had managed to create. His face was handsome, but drawn. His cheeks were hollow and his jaundice skin taut over his bones. He wasn't extremely tall, but he carried an air about him, that said he was use to looking down on people. He knew he was superior and more powerful than anyone could comprehend. And no one questioned him or dared to go against him.   
  
Except Cherry that is. She had bargained with him, for him to let Tomoyo be home schooled, but at a price, she had to entertain his men. For Tomoyo to be kept out of his other dealings, Cherry had agreed to steal for him aswell. Life was difficult, but Cherry lived by the motto, what ever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. She was just unsure how long she would live. She was growing weaker by the day, especially since he wasn't feeding her right, and the more she refused to kill anyone the more he refused to feed her properly. Some days she went without food. It was this that made her powers weaker and hence why Cerberus wasn't able to transform from his teddybear form. Yukito and Yue were long gone. She hadn't heard from them since she and Tomoyo were abducted shortly after Cherry turned Twelve.  
  
The Executioner began to circle her warily. The crowds watched, enjoying the fact that a beautiful woman was beating the crap out of a well built man, for some reason they found it exciting. He lunged at her and Cherry immediately stepped out of the way and side kicked him. She twirled round and waited for him to recover enough to lunge at her again. He side stepped and punched, but Cherry had been watching the change in stance and knew what was coming. She caught his hand and smirked, as she twisted his fist and punched him in the face, simultaneously. He staggered back cupping his nose.  
  
He let out a roar of anger, and Cherry felt her patience snap. She had told Owikawa that she'd last for 5 rounds, which she knew she would. She just hadn't counted on the Executioner not lasting that long. Each time she hit him she had to back off, and he was providing no contest for her what so ever. And this would not impress the punters. They'd be expecting her to finish him off by now. Besides she had another job to do after this. What was really pissing her off, was how she had been set up against him. She was beating the guy effortlessly without her cards. He was no match for her, so why was she fighting him?  
  
She growled under her breath and dropped to the ground and swept out her legs, making his buckle underneath him. She backflipped to her feet and watched as he got to his feet again. This time she didn't wait for him to recover. While he drunkenly swayed, she jumped and punched him, followed by a jump kick. He fell back against the cage, while she easily swung her right foot up and her foot connected with his throat. He fell to the ground unconscious.   
  
Cherry walked backwards and watched as the referee checked his pulse. There was a few tense seconds as she waited for the match to be ended. After a while the referee rose and crossed to her, holding her arm up in the air to signify she had won. The crowd erupted in cheers and men began to leer at her as she made her way out of the ring and made her way, weaving through the crowds towards Tomoyo.  
  
Tomoyo beamed brightly at her, but Cherry saw right through it. Recognizing the traces of fear in her amethyst eyes. Breathless Cherry thumped down onto a chair and slumped against it, letting the back of the chair take her weight. Tomoyo passed her a glass of water and as Cherry sipped, she noticed Owikawa watching her, as other men called her name out and made suggestive comments. She acknowledged her boss with a nod, before getting to her feet and leading Tomoyo away from the rowdy crowds.   
  
***  
  
Syaoran parted the venetian blinds and glanced out at the busy streets of Tokyo, which were lit up like a Christmas tree. He sighed and turned round to look at Yamasaki who had brought them into the office to get him away from the drooling women. Yamasaki had made some comment about already having a swimming pool in the grounds. He hadn't been paying attention.   
  
Right now Yamasaki was lounging in his arm chair, feet on the table talking amicably on the phone with whom Syaoran guessed was his girlfriend, by the glint in Yamasaki's eyes. He glanced round at Meilin and Eriol who were both sitting in the other chairs in the office. Meilin was drinking coffee while glancing at a photo of a pretty girl with hazel eyes and chestnut hair. Eriol was pouring over the files of the Black Cherry.   
  
As far as Syaoran could tell the girl was slipping past the security in buildings easily but there seemed to be no particular pattern for them to latch onto. All the Tokyo PD new was that she was stealing rare and valuable gems, but what they didn't know was that each gem had potent magick within it. Hence why he and his partners had been brought in. He would catch her all he had to do was lay the bait for her, and that would be placed out in the newspapers tomorrow. He smirked. It was only a matter of time before the Black Sakura was caught.  
  
He walked away from the window when he heard Yamasaki place the phone back onto it's cradle. Meilin's head snapped up from the phone and placed the photo back on to the desk.  
  
"Whose the girl? Your girlfriend?"  
  
Yamasaki looked slightly annoyed. "Actually she's the princess of a small Island in the pacific ocean. Not many know of her, but as I'm engaged to marry her, I have to."  
  
Meilin's eyes widened, while Syaoran frowned. She didn't look like a princess of a pacific Island. Was there any Islands in the pacific? He didn't know. Geography had never been a strong point in his studies, he preferred Math's any day.   
  
Eriol looked bemused from the Detective to his cousins, who were completely bewildered and he smirked. "I believe the Detective was subtly informing you Meilin to keep out of his personal affairs."  
  
Yamasaki grinned. "Actually I was, but I guess it's no harm informing you that yes she's my gilfriend, seeing we're going to see her now."  
  
Syaoran stared at him. "We are? What has this got to do with our investigation?"  
  
"Maybe nothing to do with our one, but it has something to do with one of mine, and anyway I thought Miss Li wanted to see some of the sights of Tokyo."  
  
Syaoran sighed as Meilin nodded delighted to be getting out of the stuffy office. He followed them out of the office and plotted on how to catch the black Cherry.  
  
***  
  
"I thought we were going to see some of the sights of Tokyo. In most people's opinion the red light district does not classify as a sight of Tokyo.", Meilin stated disgustedly as her eyes fixed on the neon signs.   
  
"Depends on the people.", Eriol mused, this brought a slight smirk to Syaoran's usually motionless mouth.  
  
"Well I want to see one of the sights of Tokyo, my girlfriend.", Yamasaki told her.  
  
"Your girlfriends a Stripper?", Meilin nearly screeched with shock.  
  
"Pole dancer.", he stated switching off the engine.  
  
"Oh yeah big difference."  
  
"Don't you mind her doing that?", Eriol inquired softly as he got out of the car.  
  
Yamasaki shrugged. "Not at all. After all she needs to gather the information on Owikawa some how. Why not undercover?"  
  
"Oh so she's undercover.", Meilin sighed relieved. "Isn't it a bit risky you coming here? Won't you blow her cover?"  
  
"Haven't done so far. Besides she likes to have me there as back up.", he explained as he led them down an alley to the entrance of one of the clubs. "Now just go along with whatever I say."  
  
The other three exchanged worried glances then nodded. It wasn't like they had any choice in the matter, Yamasaki had already entered the building, and Syaoran wanted to get a glimpse of Owikawa. He'd heard a lot about the man but it wasn't good. Seemingly they could hold nothing on him. Syaoran frowned when he caught sight of the burly bouncer with the Black T-shirt boasting the word 'Bouncer' in bold white writing.   
  
"Hey Zak how's it going? Here to see Chelsea?", Yamasaki or Zak nodded. The bouncer motioned to the others. "Are these friends of yours?"  
  
"Hai Sam, it's Syaoran's last night of freedom, thought we'd take him here for some pleasure.", Yamasaki winked at the bouncer, placing a companionable arm around Syaoran's shoulders, while Meilin bit back a horrified giggle at her cousins face, while Eriol's smirk widened.  
  
"Whose the girl?", Sam asked nodding at Meilin.  
  
"The wife. Doesn't trust me to take Syaoran out and to bring him back for the wedding, and doesn't trust him to not get grabby with the girls."  
  
Sam nodded, casting a sympathetic glance at Syaoran who merely kept his head down in shame. He was never going to live this down. Eriol placed a hand on Meilin's shoulder to keep her from ripping Yamasaki's head of his neck. Sam smiled before letting them pass.   
  
"Have fun.", he bit back a chuckle at seeing Meilin's face. 


End file.
